Media release

Ann St residents put on alert as river levels rise

Posted On: Thursday, 14 August 2008

Residents in Ann St and on the east side of Awatere Ave are tonight being contacted by Civil Defence staff to alert them to rising river levels.

The Waikato River level in Hamilton is expected to rise to around 15.5m this evening as water is released to relieve the pressure on Lake Karapiro. The water was released this evening at 6pm and will start to raise river levels in Hamilton from around 11pm tonight.

At a river level of 15.5m private property is not at risk. If the river reaches 16m, some properties in the Awatere Ave and Ann St area are designated to be within a flood risk area.

Civil Defence staff are door knocking in the affected area this evening informing residents of the rising water levels. They are talking directly to affected residents regarding the situation and leaving printed information for residents not at home.

The message being delivered to residents is that they will notice rising river levels overnight which are not expected to exceed 15.5m. Civil Defence will monitor the situation along with Environment Waikato and Mighty River Power and will contact residents directly if the situation changes.

Waikato Stadium has been put on standby as an evacuation centre in the unlikely event that flooding results in the need for evacuation.

This information has been issued by the Waikato CDEM Group.

Waikato CDEM Group Contact:

Paul Blewman

Civil Defence Mana

021 775 617

Media contact:

Public Information Manager, Sarah Bettle

Telephone: Mobile 021 279 2338

E-mail: sarah.bettle@hcc.govt.nz